The headline reads: “Minister [of Tourism] denies Brazil is a sex tourism destination”. Denial is the authorities’ major contribution to solving a sordid reality: according to UNICEF, there are 250,000 children forced into prostitution across Brazil. In the words of Sarah de Carvalho of Happy Child International:

“the crisis for these children turning to prostitution has increased significantly in the north-east of Brazil over the last few years, fuelled by increasing numbers of foreign tourists who travel to Brazil for sex holidays.”

These and other informations can be seen on a recent BBC documentary with the title Brazil’s Child Prostitutes. According to Chris Rogers, the BBC jornalist responsible for the program, Brazil is overtaking Thailand as the preferred sex tourism destination worldwide.

The World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016 loom ahead. Drastic and definitive action, of the kind I haven’t seen in Brazil in the ten years I’ve been living here, is needed.